The Problem with Cloud Migrations

Look – I get it. For some, moving from a legacy telephone system to a cloud contact centre can be a stressful, confusing experience. However, for others, it can be as routine as ordering your morning Flat White. But then there’s also that bit in the middle…

The way I see it is that there are 3 categories a business can fall into when we speak about cloud adoption and migration. They are:

Small & Agile

Big & Agile

Neither Small nor Agile

Take a second, which are you? Perhaps you’re Small & Agile, cloud to you is BAU. Your business began in the cloud and will probably end in the cloud, or better than that, in space somewhere during humanity’s first voyage to the outer solar system in space year X927. No help needed here…

Not you? Maybe you’re Big & Agile, you’ve got a complex legacy system with processes built on processes built on processes that you know you’ll need to migrate someday, alas you’re not that worried as you’ve got a budget the size of a Marvel film and enough CCNA and Cisco certifications to make Bill Gates blush. Phew, you’re going to be fine.

Still not you? Well hello Neither Small nor Agile. You’re unfortunately caught in the middle where your business has grown too quickly and is too big to be agile but too small to have the budget and experience to do it in-house. What are you meant to do? Who is there for you?

“SME’s and start-ups tend to either be born in the cloud or find it easy to migrate across. Large enterprise and multinationals find it more challenging due to legacy IT but will have the skills and project management expertise to create a path through the migration.

However, there is a “squeezed middle”, businesses that have grown successfully but no longer have the IT agility of the start and lack the in-house capabilities of a large enterprise. These are the businesses that need help to manage the migration of legacy IT and plot a course to a cloud-first environment.”

– Gavin Kowalski, Sales Director at Excell Group.

One challenge for the “squeezed middle” is that it’s easy to get lost or confused in an endless list of features and benefits that a vendor will chuck at you when trying to make a sale.

Of course, you need a solution that can generate an ROI, increase productivity and create a renewable energy source to power the world for generations to come. But get this, any vendor worth their salt will have a solution that accommodates for such needs. Words like productivity, profitability and the endless other ‘ivities’ are empty promises without true intelligence behind it. The secret sauce (and competitive advantage) comes from the why, the how and the what. Yes, you have discovered Dark Matter, powerful vendor, but how are you going to use it to help me to hit my KPIs? How are you going to realise the potential of this brilliant piece of kit?

So yes, choosing a vendor is challenging, but think of it this way. Technology alone does not drive your brand-new Ferrari in the right direction, at the right speed, with the right care. No, it takes intelligence, experience and talent to put you on the right course.

If you’re going to spend millions developing a cutting edge F1 car then you probably want Fernando Alonso driving it and not someone who just knows an awful lot about F1 cars, right?

And one final thing, Excell are exhibiting at The UK’s Biggest Call & Contact Centre Event on 27th & 28th March 2019 at stand 220, the ExCeL London. CLEARLY we know what we’re doing, so come down and say hi. Click here to get your free tickets.